Method for harvesting grapes

ABSTRACT

A high chassis vehicle adapted to straddle and travel along a row of plants has a catcher floor divided along its longitudinal center for passing along opposite sides of the plant row. The catcher floor includes two sets of resiliently flexible brushes which are bridged at the central floor division. Vertically reciprocable plant shakers are provided above the floor.

o United States atent 1191 1111 3,615,366 Sell lane ill, W76

[54] METHOD FOR HARVESTING GRAPES 3,325,984 6/1967 01111566 6 a1; 56/3303,439,482 4/1969 Orton 56/330 [75] Inventor Abdul Sell, Southport, No3,473,311 10/1969 FOX 56/330 73 Assigneez D -f (jorporafion Edemon,3,636,688 1/1972 Fontan et al 56/330 [22] Filed: Dec. 7,1972 1 [211 App!No 312 934 Primary Exammer-Russell R. Kinsey Related US. ApplicationData [62] Division ofSer. N6. 178,021, Sept. 7, 1971, Pat. No. [57]ABSTRACT A high chassis vehicle adapted to straddle and travel along arow of plants has a catcher floor divided along E 8i. 56/1, 56/Dilgi itslongitudinal center for passing along Opposite sides of the pi am rowThe catcher floor includes two Sets [58] new of Search 56/330 26430 ofresiliently flexible brushes which are bridged at the central floordivision. Vertically reciprocable plant [56] UNITE g Z r S I: !I ENTSshakers are provided above the floor. 3,184,908 5/1965 Rust 56/330 1 17Claims, 4 Drawing Figures nn-11mm 1 1914 saw HP 5 FIG.

PATENTEDJUH n 1974 V 3 3 SHEET 2 OF 3 PATENTEDJUH 1 1 I974 H SHEET 3 BF3 METHOD FGR HARVESTING GRAPES This is a division of application Ser.No. 178,021, filed Sept. 7, 1971 and now US. Pat. No. 3,772,866.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvements in harvestersfor grapes or the like, and the principal object of the invention is tofacilitate the harvesting operation so. that the grapes are effectivelyremoved from the plants and are efficiently gathered with minimum lossesby falling to the ground.

This object is attained by providing the harvester with improved planttickling means including horizontal arms which engage a row of plantsfrom opposite sides and are vertically reciprocated for effectiveremoval of grapes from the plants, such arms also being horizontallyswingable to facilitate passage thereof along the plant row.

Another important feature of the invention resides in providing theharvester with an improved catcher floor including sets of resilientlyflexible, fruit catcher means herein shown as bristles which arepreferably so shingled as to efficiently collect the grapes withoutdamaging them and with minimum losses caused by grapes falling to theground, the catcher floor being slanted so that the grapes gravitateinto a collecting conveyor means.

Another important feature of the invention resides in mounting thecatcher floor on the harvester vehicle in a floating manner whichenables the floor including both sets of fruit catcher means to movelaterally to a limited extent when the vehicle deviates from exactcentering with respect to a row of plants being harvested.

With the foregoing more important object and features in view and suchother objects and features which may become apparent as thisspecification proceeds, the invention will be understood fromthe'following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like characters of reference designate like parts, andwherein:

FIG. I is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the grape harvester inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially inthe plane of the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged perspective view of components of thecatcher floor; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing a modifiedarrangement of the catcher floor.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the numeral iii inFIG. 1 generally designates a grape harvester having the usual highchassis vehicle 112 which is adapted to straddle and travel along a rowof plants. The vehicle is provided on its deck 13 with a power plant36a, steering mechanism, operators seat, et cetera, all of which areconventional and well known so that illustration thereof in the drawingsis unnecessary. The improved catcher floor is designated gener- '19forming fruit catcher means which are mounted on the inner longitudinaledges of the respective floor boards. The brushes extend transverselyinwardly from the floor boards and are overlapped at the central floordivision, as shown at 20 in FIG. 4.

As will be apparent from FIG. 3, each brush set l8, 19 consists of a rowof U-shaped bristles having their bight portions fastened in pairs ofapertures 2i formed in a longitudinal mounting member 22., the members22 of the two brush sets being suitably hinged at M to the longitudinalinner edges of the floor boards l6, l7, as already mentioned. The brushbristles are resiliently flexible and are so closely spaced in the setthat angular bridging bristles shingle the space formed by thedeflection of the bristles as the picker travels along the grape rowsothat grapes do not fall through them onto the ground.

The upper arm l8a of each U shaped bristle or bristle tuft in the brush18 is longer than the lower arm lhb in order that the angle ofdeflection of the upper arm will be greater than the angle of deflectionof the lower arm l8!) as a vine or post travel through the passage pathbetween the brushes I8 and 19. It is an important feature of thisinvention that the gap, or V formed by the deflection of the bristles bekept to a minimum. To further this goal the platform members lid and T7are vibrated up anddown by suitable means, such as the reciprocatingarms 33, in order to reduce the drag upon the bristles by the grape vinetrunks or posts passing between the bristles. The reduction of the dragincreases the speed with which the bristle arms return totheir normalposition and thus the bristles will hug more closely to the vines orposts.

Also the upper brush i8 is angled more closely to the horizontal thanthe lower brush w as seen in MG. 3. By having the brush T9 at a greaterangle than the brush 1%, the deflection of the bristles in brush i9 isless than the deflection of bristle in brush M and the bristles in brushl9 tend to return to their normal position more rapidly than do thebristles in brush 18. Grapes on the brush 19 will clear the brush l9 andskip into the conveyor 23 more rapidly because of the greater angle ofthe brush. I

The angle of brush sets l8 and 13 about hinges Sll may be adjusted bymeans of adjusting studs 57 hearing against the members 22.

The bristles of brushes l8 and 19 preferably are relatively stiff butstill flexible so that they tend to return to a normal neutral positionwhichis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the picker. Bristles madeof polyamide synthetic resins such as nylon have been found to besuitable for this purpose, but other bristles of natural fiber,synthetic fiber, wire, or composite fiber may be used. The brushes 18and 19 may be formed with tuft of multiple U-shaped bristles, or may beformed with closely spaced single rods or fibers bent in U- shape andfall within the scope of this invention. Alternatively the brushes maybe formed with slightly spaced tuft of U-shaped bristles with singlefiberbristles interposed.

It is desirable to have the vines or posts pass closer to the brush 118which isv provided with the cover 24 (FIGS. 2 and 3) so that there willbe less deflection of the bristles of the opposite brush 119. This maybe accomplished in several ways. One way is to make the brush 19 ofgreater density than the brush 18. Another way is to provide a tensionspring 49 between the support 27 andthe chassis 12 so as to bias theplatform 17 slightly to the right.

An adjusting screw 56) is provided in order to vary the spring bias orresistance.

It is the response to this resistance that causes the catcher floor toshift laterally bringing the preselected longtudinal segment of theopposing sets of bridging bristles into alignment with the trunks & postso that they part the bristles along the passage path that will permitthe maximum opportunity for hugging or contour tracing of the passingpost & trunks by the bristles as they flex for passage by forming ashingeled cavity, detouring fruit loss, that progresses rearwardlyaround the trunk or post as the harvester advances.

As shown in FIG. i, the catcher floor 114 is slanted transversely of thevehicle so that the floor board to is relatively high and the board 17is relatively low. The brush set 18 is overlapped on top of the brushset 39 and thus the grapes which fall from the plants gravitate from thehigh side to the low side of the floor where they drop onto a collectingconveyor 23 which delivers them into an elevator (not shown) extendingto the deck 13 of the vehicle. The upper bristle set if; is preferablysupporting a flexible sheet 24 of plastic, or the like, one longitudinaledge portion of which is hinged by a pair of keeper strips 25 andfasteners 26 to flooring and the mounting member 22 of the brush set 1%.The sheet 24 shingles the entire brush set 1%, including that portionwhich overlaps the bristle set 19, and the flexible sheet 24 gives awayas the bristle sets are deflected apart by grape plants and posts whenthe machine travels along the plant row. As this occurs, the free outeredge portion of the sheet 24 turns up and forms a dam which retainsgrapes collecting on top of the sheet and prevents them from droppingthrough spaces around the trunk and the posts when the bristles areparted.

When the vine or post has passed and the brush sets come together, theweight of the grapes on top of the sheet 24 causes the turned up edgeportion to be disposed flat against the upper brush set, and the grapesroll off the shingling means or bridge 24 onto the lower bristle set l9and onto the floor board 17, whereupon they drop onto the conveyor 23.The catcher floor 14 is suspended in a floating manner from the deck 13of the vehicle, as by a set of bars or straps 27 which are connected attheir lower end to the floor boards l6, l7 and are pivoted to the deck13 at their upper end as at 28. The pivots 28 of the straps 27 permitthe catcher floor 14 to move laterally to a limited extent as indicatedby the arrow 29 in FIG. 1, so that the central divistraps 27 areconnected together by a tie rod 30 which causes the catcher floor tomove as a unit and prevents the high and low side portions of thecatcher floor from moving too close together or too far apart, thusassuring that a proper amount of brush overlap is maintained at 20.

The catcher floor 14 in FIG. 1 is slanted laterally in one direction andoffers the economy of a single conveyor, but a somewhat differentarrangement of the floor is shown in FIG. 4 particularly adaptable tolow growing or ridge grown fruits such as blueberries without detractingfrom its efficiency in grapes. Here the brush set 19, the floor board 17and the conveyor 23 are as before on one side of the center line 15. Onthe other side the brush set 18a, the floor board 16a and anotherconveyor 23a are similarly provided and arranged so that the floor has ahigh region at the center and low regions at both sides. The brush sets18a, 19 are still bridged as at 24) and grapes falling on the floor skipoff laterally in both directions and onto the two conveyors 23, 23a. Inthis arrangement the use of a brush covering sheet (such as the sheet24) is obtained by hanging strips of shingeling sheet from spaced toplayer bristles as a flag from a staff and it makes no difference whetherthe brush set i801 overlaps the set it as shown, or is hipped as at thepeak of a roof for minimum deflection of the bristles as the plantpasses there between. As will be apparent the shingling means such asthe shingling sheet 24 may be applied to either or both the flexiblefruit catcher means or brush sets is and 19 in the manner shown in FIGS.li-3.

As is customary in harvesters of this type, some type of means areprovided for shaking the plants so that the grapes fall off onto thecatcher floor. The invention provides a pair of improved plant shakerunits designated generally as 31, which are located above the catcherfloor at opposite sides of the longitudinal center 15 and near the rearend of the machine which travels in the direction of the arrow 32 in H0.2.

Each shaker unit 31 comprises a substantially vertical shaft 33, thelower end portion of which is slidably telescoped in a tubular bearing34 on the catcher floor board (16 or 17), while the upper end portion ofthe shaft passes freely through an opening 35 in the deck 13 and isconnected as at 36 to an eccentrically offset portion 37 of a rotatingsprocket 38. The rotating sprockets are journalled in bearings 39 on thedeck 13 and are suitably driven, either by a separate motor 36a or by aconnecting chain 40 which is driven from the power plant (not shown) ofthe vehicle.

A plurality of sleeves 41 are rotatably positioned on the shaft 33 andeach carries an arm 42 which extends horizontally toward the center ofthe machine. The several arms 42 are vertically spaced and each of thesleeves is also provided with a shorter, outwardly directed arm 43 Atension spring 44 entends from each arm 43 to the frame of the vehicleand serves to bias the sleeve 41 so that the associated arm 42 normallyextends transversely inwardly toward the center line 15. The severalsleeves 41 of course, are independently rotatable on the shaft 33, andas the machine travels along the plant row, the arms 42 are individuallyfree to swing horizontally rearwardly as shown at 45 in FIG. 2, againstthe bais of the springs 44, to facilitate passage of the arms along theplants. As each plant is cleared, the springs 44 return the arms 42 totheir normal position. The arms 42 on one side of the centerline of thepicker are vertically staggered with respect to the arms 42 on the otherside of the centerline and the arms 42 project over the centerline inoverlapping relationship.

A compression spring 46-is interposed on the shaft 33 between thelowermost of the sleeves 4i and the bearing 34. Similarly, another suchspring 47 is provided be tween the uppermost sleeve and a collar 48 onthe shaft, thus maintaining the several sleeves 41 in end-toendrelation, yet allowing limited movement thereof up or down on the shaft,quite independent of vertical reciprocation which is imparted to thecatcher floors with their attached bristles and to the shaft 33 and toall the arms 42 on the shaft when the sprocket 38 is rotated. Thevertical reciprocation of the arms 42, touching the grapes, vines andtheir usual wire supports, causes ripe grapes to fall off the vines ontothe catcher floor M.

It is to be understood that the shaker shafts 33 fit the bearings 3dquite loosely and that the shaft connections 36 to the crankshaftportion 37 are loose enough for the shap'er units M to become slightlytilted to one side or the other when the catcher floor l4 moveslaterally within limits with respect to the center line 15, as alreadydiscussed.

Manifestly, instead of the reciprocating means 36, 37, 38, any othersuitable mechanism may be used for reciprocating the shafts 33 of theshaker units llll. It will be also understood that such shaker units areprovided on the machine having either the catcher floor M shown in FIG.l or the modified floor shown in FIG. 4. Provided along the rear edgesof the platforms lo and 17 are upright hurdles 52 and 53 of wood orother material which prevent loose grapes on the platform from beingdragged off the rear edges by the grapevines. Upright bristle hurdles 5dand 55 are secured to the inner ends of the hurdles 52; and 53respectively so as to extend across the rear ends of brush sets 18 and Wrespectively. Bristles fid-and 55 are long enough to intermesh oroverlap.

Method of Operation The vines pass between a series of closely spacedselfrelieving synchronized arms 42 that travel in a variable diameterorbital direction at a varied frequency that is greater than the naturalresonant frequency of the mass of vines, wire and grapes; thus, theenergy of the arms 42 is not transmitted down the vine and wire and thegrapes are tickled" from the vines only while within the confines of themachine and in a state of ripeness chosen by the operator. Upon fallingfrom the vine, the grapes are caught upon two platforms lb and 17 thatfloat to either side to self-align both the platforms and the abovedescribed shaking mechanism with any misaligned posts or vines. Thespace between the two platforms, through which the trunk of the vinesand posts pass, is bridged by layered bristles which hug around postsand vines, presenting minimal gap or opening through which the fruit canbe lost.

If the size of the fruit and spacing of the bristles approach each otherand the fruit has a tendency to lodge in the bristles, a layer of lightfabric 24, may be attached to the bristles and as vines and posts passthrough the fabric will wrinkle up and form a dam that is selfrelievingafter the post and vines pass and allow fruit to move uninterrupted tothe conveyor.

To facilitate the transference of fruitoff the bristles and platforms totheconveyor, vertical energy is conveyed to the platforms lb and l7 inshort pulses that cause the platforms and brushes to'vibrate at theirnatural. resonance. Thiscauses the fruit to hopacross the platforms andbristles and not to become lodged and pile up in trash or bristles.

' It is important that the operator be able to adjust the frequency ofvibration of the arms t2 in accordance with the density of the grapevines in order to keep the grapes falling insideof the picker. A greatervibration frequency will be required for dense grape vines than thegrape vines. The throw of the eccentric offsets 37 is preferablyselected to be at least equal to the distance between the fingers 4-2 oneach shaft 33.

While in the foregoing there have been shown and described the preferredembodiments of the invention, various modifications and equivalentsmaybe resorted to within the spirit and scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimedas new is:

l. A method of harvesting grapes and like fruit, carried on vinesarranged in rows, said. vines having trunks supported by posts andhaving branches supported on trellis wires between said posts; saidvines, fruit and trellis wires comprising a series of vine masses eachhaving a natural resonant frequency of vibration, said method comprisingpassing a harvester vehicle having a longitudinally divided fruitcatcher floor in straddling relation to a row of vines with the dividedfloor defining an intermediate passageway, to permit the vine trunks andposts to pass through said passageway as the harvester advances alongsaid row, with the vine masses, including the fruit, extending above thecatcher floor, vibrating said vine mass to remove the fruit therefrom byengaging a power source with a vibratable fruit removal means, adjustingthe frequency of vibration of said fruit removal means to a rate greaterthan the natural resonant frequency of the first vine mass to be engagedby said vibration means as the harvester advances along the vine row andcollecting the fruit removed from the vine mass by said fruit removalmeans upon the fruit catcher floor and vibrating said fruit catcherfloor to assist in transferring said fruit to fruit collecting meansdisposed laterally of said fruit catcher floor, and continuing saidvibration as the harvester progresses along the row, with the frequencyof vibration of .said fruit removal means being adjusted to the naturalfrequency of each vine mass along the row.

2. A method as defined in claim ll wherein the fruit removal means aresimultaneously vibrated generally upwardly and downwardly with referenceto the catcher floor and also transversely of the vine mass astheharvester advances along the vine row.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the frequency of vibration ofthe fruit removal means is adjusted in accordance with weight of vinemasses as the harvester progresses, being greater for the heavier massesthan for the lighter masses.

d. A method as defined in claim l wherein the catcher floor includes twosets of shingled flexible fruit catcher means mounted on opposite sidesof the floor division and bridging said longitudinal passageway, saidmethod including the step of maintaining a shingled cavity on at leastone side of the longitudinal passageway as the harvester advanv'es alongthe row of vines, said cavity forming a dam to prevent fruit fromfalling to the ground due to the deformation of the said flexible fruitcatcher means as the portions thereof adjacent said passageway engagevine trunks or support posts.

5. A method of harvesting grapes and like fruit, carried on vinesarranged in rows, said vines having trunks supported by posts and havingbranches supported on trellis wires between said posts; said vines,fruit and trellis wires comprising a vine mass, said method comprisingpassing a harvester vehicle having a longitudinally divided fruitcatcher floor in straddling relation to a row of vines with thedividedfloor defining an intermediate passageway, to permit the vine trunks andposts to pass through said passageway as the harvester advances alongsaid row, with the vine mass including the fruit extending above thedivided catcher floor, vibrating said vine mass to remove the fruittherefrom and simultaneously vibrating said catcher floor to assist intransfer of fruit to collecting means disposed laterally beyond thecatcher floor.

6. The method as defined in claim includingthe step of maintaining ashingled cavity on at least one side of the longitudinal passageway asthe harvester advances along the row of vines, said cavity forming a damto prevent fruit from falling to the ground due to the deformation ofthe said flexible fruit catcher means as the portions thereof adjacentsaid passageway engage vine trunks or support posts.

7. A method of harvesting grapes and like fruit, carried on vinesarranged in rows, said vines having trunks supported by posts and havingbranches supported on trellis wires between said posts; said vines,fruit and trellis wires comprising a vine mass, said method comprisingpassing a harvester vehicle having a laterally deflectablelongitudinally divided fruit catcher floor in straddling relation to arow of vines with the divided floor defining an intermediate passageway,to permit the vine trunks and posts to pass through said passageway asthe harvester advances along said row, with the vine mass including thefruit extending above the catcher floor, vibrating said vine mass toremove the fruit therefrom, collecting said fruit on said divided floorand vibrating said floor to assist in transferring 'fruit to collectingmeans disposed laterally beyond said 8. A method as defined in claim 7which includes the step of laterally deflecting the longitudinal flooras a unit by contact of the vine trunks and posts with portions of saiddivided floor adjacent the intermediate passageway.

9. A method as defined in claim 8 wherein the divided floor comprisestwo sets of shingled, flexible fruit catching means and the methodincludes the step of forming a shingled cavity in at least one of saidsets of shingled flexible fruit catcher means by contact of said meanswith the vine trunks and posts to provide a dam to prevent fruit fromfalling to the ground through said passageway as the divided catcherfloor engages said trunks and posts.

10. In a method of harvesting grapes and the like wherein a mobileharvester vehicle is passd in straddling relationto a row of vinesincluding fruit bearing masses and fruit is shaken from the vines onto adivided floor which is provided with an intermediate passageway for vinetrunks and posts and with two sets of fruit catching members arrangedone on one side and the other on the other side of the intermediatepassageway and normally bridging said passageway, the step whichcomprises forming a dam on one of said fruit catching with two sets offlexible fruit catcher means one mounted on one side and the other onthe other side of the passageway and bridging said passageway, the stepwhich comprises vibrating the catcher floor to assist in transferringfruit across the central passageway to fruit collecting means locatedlaterally beyond said floor.

12. In a method of mechanically harvesting grapes and the like wherein amobile vehicle having a divided floor provided with an intermediatepassageway is passed in straddling relation to a row of fruit bearingmeans, the steps which comprise subjecting said vines to vibration bothup and down and laterally with respect to the catcher floor and passingsaid fruit to collecting means disposed laterally along one side only ofthe catcher floor.

13. In a method of mechanically harvesting grapes and the like wherein amobile vehicle having a divided floor provided with an intermediatepassageway is passed in straddling relation to a row of vines having aseries of fruit bearing masses of different weights disposedlongitudinally along the row which method includes the steps ofsubjecting each of said masses to resonant vibration as the harvesterpasses the same varying the frequency of vibration in accordance withthe weight of said fruit bearing masses, the frequency being greater forheavy masses and less for lighter masses, collecting the fruit on thecatcher floor and thereafter removing said fruit from the catcher floorand passing the same to laterally disposed collecting means disposed atone side only of the catcher floor.

14. ln a method of harvesting grapes and the like wherein a mobileharvester vehicle is passed in straddling relation to a row of vines,including fruit bearing masses, and fruit is shaken from the vines ontoa divided fruit catcher floor which is provided with an intermediatepassageway for vine trunks and posts and with two sets of yielding fruitcatching members arranged one on one side and the other on the otherside of the intermediate passageway and normally bridging saidpassageway, the steps which comprise providing means on one of saidfruit catching means, to prevent fruit from dropping to the groundaround a trunk or post, as the harvester vehicle advances along the vinerow and passing fruit laterally over said passageway to fruit collectingmeans at one side only of said fruit catcher floor.

15. In a method of mechanically harvesting grapes and the like wherein amobile vehicle having a divided fruit catcher floor provided with anintermediate passageway is passed in straddling relation to a row offruit bearing means, the steps which comprise subjecting said vines tovibration as the harvester advances along the row to cause the fruit todrop to the catcher floor and passing said fruit to collecting meansdisposed laterally beyond the catcher floor disposed at one side only ofthe catcher floor.

16. In a method of harvesting grapes and the like wherein a mobileharvester vehicle is passed in straddling relation to a row of vines,including fruit bearing masses, and fruit is removed from the vines anddeposited onto a divided fruit catcher floor which is provided with anintermediate passageway for vine trunks and posts and with two sets ofyielding fruit catching members arranged one on one side and the otheron the other side of the intermediate passageway and normally bridgingsaid passageway, the steps which comprise providing means on one of saidfruit cathing means, to

prevent fruit from dropping to the ground around a trunk or post, as theharvester vehicle advances along the vine row and passing fruitlaterally over said passageway to fruit collecting means at one sideonly of said fruit catcher floor.

17. ln a method of mechanically harvesting grapes and the like wherein amobile vehicle having a divided fruit catcher floor provided with anintermediate pasonly of the catcher floor.

1. A method of harvesting grapes and like fruit, carried on vinesarranged in rows, said vines having trunks supported by posts and havingbranches supported on trellis wires between said posts; said vines,fruit and trellis wires comprising a series of vine masses each having anatural resonant frequency of vibration, said method comprising passinga harvester vehicle having a longitudinally divided fruit catcher floorin straddling relation to a row of vines with the divided floor definingan intermediate passageway, to permit the vine trunks and posts to passthrough said passageway as the harvester advances along said row, withthe vine masses, including the fruit, extending above the catcher floor,vibrating said vine mass to remove the fruit therefrom by engaging apower source with a vibratable fruit removal means, adjusting thefrequency of vibration of said fruit removal means to a rate greaterthan the natural resonant frequency of the first vine mass to be engagedby said vibration means as the harvester advances along the vine row andcollecting the fruit removed from the vine mass by said fruit removalmeans upon the fruit catcher floor and vibrating said fruit catcherfloor to assist in transferring said fruit to fruit collecting meansdisposed lateraLly of said fruit catcher floor, and continuing saidvibration as the harvester progresses along the row, with the frequencyof vibration of said fruit removal means being adjusted to the naturalfrequency of each vine mass along the row.
 2. A method as defined inclaim 1 wherein the fruit removal means are simultaneously vibratedgenerally upwardly and downwardly with reference to the catcher floorand also transversely of the vine mass as the harvester advances alongthe vine row.
 3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the frequency ofvibration of the fruit removal means is adjusted in accordance withweight of vine masses as the harvester progresses, being greater for theheavier masses than for the lighter masses.
 4. A method as defined inclaim 1 wherein the catcher floor includes two sets of shingled flexiblefruit catcher means mounted on opposite sides of the floor division andbridging said longitudinal passageway, said method including the step ofmaintaining a shingled cavity on at least one side of the longitudinalpassageway as the harvester advanves along the row of vines, said cavityforming a dam to prevent fruit from falling to the ground due to thedeformation of the said flexible fruit catcher means as the portionsthereof adjacent said passageway engage vine trunks or support posts. 5.A method of harvesting grapes and like fruit, carried on vines arrangedin rows, said vines having trunks supported by posts and having branchessupported on trellis wires between said posts; said vines, fruit andtrellis wires comprising a vine mass, said method comprising passing aharvester vehicle having a longitudinally divided fruit catcher floor instraddling relation to a row of vines with the divided floor defining anintermediate passageway, to permit the vine trunks and posts to passthrough said passageway as the harvester advances along said row, withthe vine mass including the fruit extending above the divided catcherfloor, vibrating said vine mass to remove the fruit therefrom andsimultaneously vibrating said catcher floor to assist in transfer offruit to collecting means disposed laterally beyond the catcher floor.6. The method as defined in claim 5 including the step of maintaining ashingled cavity on at least one side of the longitudinal passageway asthe harvester advances along the row of vines, said cavity forming a damto prevent fruit from falling to the ground due to the deformation ofthe said flexible fruit catcher means as the portions thereof adjacentsaid passageway engage vine trunks or support posts.
 7. A method ofharvesting grapes and like fruit, carried on vines arranged in rows,said vines having trunks supported by posts and having branchessupported on trellis wires between said posts; said vines, fruit andtrellis wires comprising a vine mass, said method comprising passing aharvester vehicle having a laterally deflectable longitudinally dividedfruit catcher floor in straddling relation to a row of vines with thedivided floor defining an intermediate passageway, to permit the vinetrunks and posts to pass through said passageway as the harvesteradvances along said row, with the vine mass including the fruitextending above the catcher floor, vibrating said vine mass to removethe fruit therefrom, collecting said fruit on said divided floor andvibrating said floor to assist in transferring fruit to collecting meansdisposed laterally beyond said floor.
 8. A method as defined in claim 7which includes the step of laterally deflecting the longitudinal flooras a unit by contact of the vine trunks and posts with portions of saiddivided floor adjacent the intermediate passageway.
 9. A method asdefined in claim 8 wherein the divided floor comprises two sets ofshingled, flexible fruit catching means and the method includes the stepof forming a shingled cavity in at least one of said sets of shingledflexible fruit catcher means by contact of said means with the vinetrunks and posts to provide A dam to prevent fruit from falling to theground through said passageway as the divided catcher floor engages saidtrunks and posts.
 10. In a method of harvesting grapes and the likewherein a mobile harvester vehicle is passd in straddling relation to arow of vines including fruit bearing masses and fruit is shaken from thevines onto a divided floor which is provided with an intermediatepassageway for vine trunks and posts and with two sets of fruit catchingmembers arranged one on one side and the other on the other side of theintermediate passageway and normally bridging said passageway, the stepwhich comprises forming a dam on one of said fruit catching means inpassing a vine trunk or post, to prevent fruit from dropping to theground around said trunk or post and thereafter removing the dam topermit fruit to pass laterally over said passageway to fruit collectingmeans located at the side of catcher floor remote from the dam.
 11. In amethod of harvesting grapes and the like wherein a fruit harvesterhaving a divided catcher floor with an intermediate opening forming apassageway to permit passage of trunks and posts, passes in straddlingrelation to a vine row, which catcher floor is provided with two sets offlexible fruit catcher means one mounted on one side and the other onthe other side of the passageway and bridging said passageway, the stepwhich comprises vibrating the catcher floor to assist in transferringfruit across the central passageway to fruit collecting means locatedlaterally beyond said floor.
 12. In a method of mechanically harvestinggrapes and the like wherein a mobile vehicle having a divided floorprovided with an intermediate passageway is passed in straddlingrelation to a row of fruit bearing means, the steps which comprisesubjecting said vines to vibration both up and down and laterally withrespect to the catcher floor and passing said fruit to collecting meansdisposed laterally along one side only of the catcher floor.
 13. In amethod of mechanically harvesting grapes and the like wherein a mobilevehicle having a divided floor provided with an intermediate passagewayis passed in straddling relation to a row of vines having a series offruit bearing masses of different weights disposed longitudinally alongthe row which method includes the steps of subjecting each of saidmasses to resonant vibration as the harvester passes the same varyingthe frequency of vibration in accordance with the weight of said fruitbearing masses, the frequency being greater for heavy masses and lessfor lighter masses, collecting the fruit on the catcher floor andthereafter removing said fruit from the catcher floor and passing thesame to laterally disposed collecting means disposed at one side only ofthe catcher floor.
 14. In a method of harvesting grapes and the likewherein a mobile harvester vehicle is passed in straddling relation to arow of vines, including fruit bearing masses, and fruit is shaken fromthe vines onto a divided fruit catcher floor which is provided with anintermediate passageway for vine trunks and posts and with two sets ofyielding fruit catching members arranged one on one side and the otheron the other side of the intermediate passageway and normally bridgingsaid passageway, the steps which comprise providing means on one of saidfruit catching means, to prevent fruit from dropping to the groundaround a trunk or post, as the harvester vehicle advances along the vinerow and passing fruit laterally over said passageway to fruit collectingmeans at one side only of said fruit catcher floor.
 15. In a method ofmechanically harvesting grapes and the like wherein a mobile vehiclehaving a divided fruit catcher floor provided with an intermediatepassageway is passed in straddling relation to a row of fruit bearingmeans, the steps which comprise subjecting said vines to vibration asthe harvester advances along the row to cause the fruit to drop to thecatcher floor and passing sAid fruit to collecting means disposedlaterally beyond the catcher floor disposed at one side only of thecatcher floor.
 16. In a method of harvesting grapes and the like whereina mobile harvester vehicle is passed in straddling relation to a row ofvines, including fruit bearing masses, and fruit is removed from thevines and deposited onto a divided fruit catcher floor which is providedwith an intermediate passageway for vine trunks and posts and with twosets of yielding fruit catching members arranged one on one side and theother on the other side of the intermediate passageway and normallybridging said passageway, the steps which comprise providing means onone of said fruit cathing means, to prevent fruit from dropping to theground around a trunk or post, as the harvester vehicle advances alongthe vine row and passing fruit laterally over said passageway to fruitcollecting means at one side only of said fruit catcher floor.
 17. In amethod of mechanically harvesting grapes and the like wherein a mobilevehicle having a divided fruit catcher floor provided with anintermediate passageway is passed in straddling relation to a row offruit bearing vines, the steps which comprise removing substantially allof the fruit from said vines as the harvester advances along the row,depositing fruit onto the catcher floor and passing said fruit tocollecting means disposed laterally beyond the catcher floor at one sideonly of the catcher floor.